Photo and story by Staff Sgt. Robert W. Stephenson, 444th
MPAD/Fort Dix PA

A Florida film crew was
at Training and Training
Technology Battle
Lab (T3BL), at Fort
Dix to film several real-world
scenarios that soldiers might
encounter while performing
peacekeeping or combat missions.

Plots involve the use of
standing rules of engagement,
called judgmental use
of force, but might be more
familiar as the “shoot-don’t
shoot” scenario. Different versions
of each scene were filmed and later converted for use on
the Engagement Skills Trainer (EST)
2000, a laser operated small arms and
crew served weapons firing simulator
used throughout the military, including
the T3BL, the only High Tech
Training Center of its kind in the country.

“ The Army and the National Guard
come to us as subject matter experts
to help implement, develop and field
virtual training aids for different levels
of training,” stated Sgt. 1st Class
Samuel Grimes, an infantry instructor
and writer at T3BL.

The T3BL serves as a testing and
fielding center for training aids, simulators
and simulations. With the recent
mobilization of more than 7,000
Reserve and National Guard soldiers
at Fort Dix, the T3BL has seen an
increased level of activity. Mobilized
units that are waiting to deploy have
been sharpening their skills on a daily
basis at T3BL. Soldiers can zero
weapons, engage virtual-reality targets
or participate in judgmental use
of force scenarios.

" One of the problems soldiers in
the field face are situations where
they don’t know whether to engage a
target or not,” said Staff Sgt. Keith
Weinberg, a member of the T3BL
Battle Staff and one of the scenario
writers. “This is going to get them
practice the rules of engagement.”

And it is not just the line soldier
who has to make the difficult calls.
Recent events in Iraq prove that all
U.S. soldiers, from cooks to truck
drivers, can find themselves in this
type of situation.

One scenario shot at Walson
Hospital came from real life, according
to Jack Tensly, director and cameraman
for the project. Tensley, who
has shot and directed productions for
Disney, was setting up a shot at the vacant hospital. In this story
line, men and women in civilian
clothes were looting the
hospital of furniture when a
U.S. soldier encounters them
at the door. An argument
ensues, a gun is fired, someone
falls, and a soldier is attacked.
What next? This is
the crux of the shoot-don’t
shoot scenario and if it sounds
all too familiar U.S. forces have
encountered similar situations
in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan,
and in Iraq.

“
We have shot close to 60 scenarios for the simulator,” said
Tensly. “And it’s a bit eerie because
a lot of what we’ve shot so far have
been incidences like those that have
happened in the field.”

As for Tinsley, the importance of
creating and filming the scenarios used
in the EST 2000 is not lost on him.

“
It’s a big responsibility,” notes
the director. “To be realistic and
effective and not to just produce scenarios
that fill a quota, but actually are
fielded and used and help protect and
train people better is a big responsibility
and we take it seriously.”

By sending soldiers through the
simulator, units are able to provide
them with enough realism to uncover
any deficiencies. As one soldier was
overheard to say: “Anything can happen
to you out there – so you have to
be trained for anything.”